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Former Glasgow Rangers defender Alan Hutton has shared his fears over Steven Gerrard leaving the Gers for a Premier League club this summer.

The Lowdown: Gerrard linked with exit

Earlier this year, Gerrard was linked with a move to Liverpool after it was suggested Jurgen Klopp could leave the Reds (The Mirror).

While that particular link has since quietened down, both Wolves (The Athletic) and Everton are said to have been in pursuit of the Gers boss more recently.

The Latest: Hutton shares exit fears

Speaking to Football Insider, Hutton has admitted he is worried Gerrard could leave the 55-time Scottish champions. He said when asked if he was worried:

“Yeah, of course. I think it will be every Rangers fan’s nightmare knowing how well he’s done.

“He’s come in, it’s taken him a few seasons to settle in but we’re seeing how good he actually is as a manager at the moment and what he can bring to the table.

“With this managerial merry-go-round that literally is happening down south, there’s going to be opportunities. It doesn’t matter who you are. You want to be working or playing at the highest level possible.

“There’s a lot of money down south. If there’s an opportunity to go to a team and rebuild a team at a high level, of course you’re going to have to think about it. It’s only natural.

“I’m worried as a Rangers fan. We know how good a job Gerrard’s done and people will be looking at him.”

The Verdict: Not yet

It seems inevitable Gerrard will leave the Gers to move some south at some point. The 41-year-old, who earns £2.5m a year at Ibrox (£48,000 a week, The Daily Express), has done a fantastic job in Glasgow, leading Rangers to their first major trophy in 10 years. However, he is a Liverpool legend and an Englishman, and will therefore always likely be interested in a move back home.

Having said that, it feels unlikely that he will leave this summer. Rangers’ Premiership title means they have qualified for the Champions League third qualifying round. A run in Europe’s premier club competition is surely too big a challenge to pass up on.

In other news, Kieran Maguire has made this Ibrox claim.

Everton’s hopes of securing European football next season took a huge boost on Sunday afternoon.

The Toffees were excellent as they swept aside West Ham 1-0 at the London Stadium.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin popped up with yet another goal before the defensive work from Carlo Ancelotti’s men won them the game.

Ben Godfrey was in excellent form as the Everton defence combined well to deny their opposition a single shot on target.

The vast majority of Ancelotti’s team performed admirably but there were a few shaky outings that will have left the manager with something to think about.

Richarlison completed five dribbles but was accused of running down blind alleys on a regular basis while Gylfi Sigurdsson wasn’t at the races either.

The Iceland international was strong defensively, winning three out of his four duels, but from an offensive point of view he was completely anonymous.

Writing at full-time, Liverpool Echo journalist Phil Kirkbride commented: “Eerily similar performance to the one he served up at Arsenal recently. Had his eye in from set-pieces, in the first-half, but influence in possession lessened after the break.”

It’s hard to argue against that sentiment when you consider the efforts he displayed in east London.

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Although he was keen to track back, whenever he got forward he never really looked like having a strong influence over the contest.

With James Rodriguez still missing, he’ll need to step things up if he wants to remain in the team.

After all, Ancelotti has now shown that he’s ready to tinker after moving to a three-man defence against the Irons on Sunday.

During the course of the match, Sigurdsson had fewer touches of the football (28) than goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (33). On top of that, the attacking midfielder completed just 13 passes all match.

Furthermore, he failed to attempt a single dribble and managed only the one shot on target.

This was an afternoon to forget for the 31-year-old, a player who has struggled for consistency towards the closing stages of the season. Sigurdsson has contributed to 17 goals in all competitions this term but only two of those involvements have come in his last eight outings.

The forward’s performances have waned in the last few months which after an arduous performance is certainly forgivable.

That being said, with Everton targeting a winger ahead of the summer transfer window, he needs to show more to merit his place in the side.

AND in other news, Move over Gordon: Everton have a future star in never-seen 15 y/o, he’s a big “threat”…

Charlie Wyke was at the centre of the drama in Sunderland’s League One play-off semi-final second leg against Lincoln City. 

Top-scorer Wyke spurned a glorious opportunity shortly after Ross Stewart had put Sunderland in front – he rounded Lincoln goalkeeper Alex Palmer and could have squared to an arriving Chris Maguire for a tap-in.

Instead, though, Wyke went for goal himself and inexplicably fired his shot straight at the covering defender.

It looked as if he had made amends when he doubled the Black Cats’ lead just after the half-hour mark, meeting Aiden McGeady’s cross with an outstretched leg and beat Palmer.

But then, 10 minutes into the second half, he came back to defend a Lincoln corner and lost his man, Tom Hopper, who headed home to restore Lincoln’s advantage on aggregate.

Wyke lost nine aerial duels in total, conceded possession 12 times times and made only 12 accurate passes in the game, fewer than Sunderland ‘keeper Lee Burge (via SofaScore).

Here’s what fans made of his display.

Wyke under fire after missing chance and losing man

“Terrible from Wyke that”

Credit: @AdamGuest

“Wyke frustrates me”

Credit: @ColeLevy5

“Awful marking by Wyke.”

Credit: @kevlennon1

“Charlie Wyke is a terrible footballer, he’s brilliant at letting a football hit him and that’s it…no other skills…”

Credit: @Dankendal93

“If we go out. It’s wyke to blame, completely.”

Credit: @Safc1879_

“Wyke had a mare”

Credit: @Stefano_Uvavu

“Wyke been horrible today. Could have had 3.”

Credit: @ciaranrace6

“Get Wyke off the pitch!”

Credit: @deanrankin

“Honestly wyke can’t kick a ball”

Credit: @aaronclasper

In other news, Black Cats fans fumed at this update. 

Some Liverpool fans have been reacting to the news that the Reds have lost a significant amount of money in the past year, with lots of negativity on show.

It has been an extremely tough year around the world, with the virus affecting day-to-day life to a level rarely seen in modern history.

Football, like nearly every other industry, has taken a major financial hit in that time, with fans largely not allowed inside stadiums and clubs losing huge amounts of matchday revenue.

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Liverpool have struggled both on and off the pitch since clinching their maiden Premier League title, missing having supporters inside Anfield and seeing the defence of their crown fizzle out in miserable fashion.

On Tuesday, the club announced their financial results over the past 12 months, with The Athletic’s James Pearce confirming a pre-tax loss of £46million.

Liverpool fans frustrated by £46m losses

It is no great surprise, considering the impact the virus has had, but that hasn’t stopped a number of Liverpool supporters voicing their frustration.

Here are some of the best reactions on Twitter.

“30 year old Thiago for £25m and £200k p/w, someone who is good at the economics please help me budget this. My football club is dying”

Credit: @NoSwearingHere7

“We are not signing anyone this summer lads”

Credit: @Gbemiga_A

“This is just letting everyone know we’re not signing a single player this summer”

Credit: @rinangelz

“Lost £46m already and that’s only 3 months of the pandemic”

Credit: @archielfc

“There goes our summer budget”

Credit: @RebelYelliex

“Well the success was fun for 3 years. No chance FSG will dip into their own pocket and fund anything this summer”

Credit: @JamieRamsey_

In other news, some Liverpool fans are desperate for the Reds to sign one exciting attacker this summer. Find out who it is here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Paul Stewart, who made 529 appearances during his career, has claimed that James Ward-Prowse will be wanted by several clubs this summer after a great season.

Ward-Prowse has been tipped to replace Georginio Wijnaldum at Liverpool by Garth Crooks with the 30-year old midfielder expected to leave at the end of the season.

Southampton’s captain signed a new contract last year but this season has been his best for the Saints having scored eight goals and earned himself several England call ups ahead of the European Championships this summer.

Speaking on how Ward-Prowse has been one of the best midfielders this season and if he could replace Wijnaldum, Stewart exclusively told FFC:

“I think they are two different types of players, but I like Ward-Prowse and I’ve seen his stats that show he covers the second most amount of ground during games, only behind Soucek.

“If you combine that with the ability to put a ball on a sixpence then it makes him a highly sought-after player. So, yeah, I could definitely see him there.”

With Gareth Southgate now able to take 26 players to the Euros instead of the usual 23, Ward-Prowse appears to have a great chance of making the final squad.

Under Mauricio Pellegrino, the 26-year old found regular starts a lot less guaranteed, however since Ralph Hasenhuttl came in he has been the main man and been handed the captain’s armband.

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa appears to be making a major mistake over Joe Gelhardt amid Kevin Phillips’ verdict on the young striker.

What’s the story?

The 18-year-old has been in prolific form at academy level for Bielsa’s side this season, scoring 11 goals in 15 games in the Premier League 2. Despite that goal-scoring record, Gelhardt has found first-team opportunities hard to come by, with the closest he has been to the action being an unused substitute in recent weeks.

That has now led to Phillips to claim that the striker may consider his options sooner rather than later, especially if things continue as they are now.

Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “Sometimes you have to be patient. It’s tough when you’ve got Patrick Bamford ahead of you. He’s probably the first name on the team sheet. But there comes a point where, as a player, if you’re scoring goals and doing well you want an opportunity.

“If you’re not going to get it at the club you’re at, can you go somewhere else and get an opportunity?  It’s a tough one for the manager because he wants to keep everyone happy but Leeds are playing well with the system that they play.  He’ll want some questions answered by the manager about ‘where does my future lie?’”

Radrizzani won’t be happy

Football Insider claimed that the 18-year-old is seen as “electrifying” and “phenomenal” behind the scenes, while Bielsa himself is seemingly a big fan of the talented teenager, with the Leeds manager saying: “He’s a player that always creates danger in a game. He’s a player who’s more linked with the finalising of chances rather than the creation of them. He has resources to beat an opponent and he has a final shot, a finish that is very good.”

So it will surely frustrate Andrea Radrizzani and co that one of the club’s brightest young prospects is struggling to get any first-team action at all this season, even with Leeds having little to no depth up front.

Bielsa sticking with Bamford as his main man up top is completely understandable, especially when you consider he’s bagged 14 goals in 29 Premier League games this season.

But could Gelhardt not have come on for Bamford at the end of games, or be given a chance instead of the likes of Tyler Roberts and Rodrigo for example?

It’s a gaffe on Bielsa’s part, and it would be no surprise if Gelhardt himself is wondering whether he could potentially find a path to first-team football much quicker elsewhere like Phillips suggests.

Meanwhile, Leeds could sign a perfect midfield partner for Kalvin Phillips in this star…

A number of Liverpool supporters were left unimpressed with Jurgen Klopp’s substitutions in the disappointing 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid.

The Reds produced an insipid performance on Tuesday night, losing comfortably to the La Liga giants and seeing their Champions League hopes damaged.

Madrid were comfortably the better team throughout the quarter-final first leg, and while Liverpool improved after the break, they were never at the races on the night.

Klopp didn’t have a good evening, and his decision to start Naby Keita over Thiago backfired badly, with the former hooked before half-time because he was struggling so much. It was what he did after that which has left fans bemused though.

The Liverpool manager brought off Ozan Kabak and Diogo Jota in the second half – arguably two of the better performers – with Xherdan Shaqiri and Roberto Firmino replacing them.

Liverpool fans left unhappy with Klopp’s subs

These Liverpool fans were unimpressed with those choices from Klopp, taking to Twitter to criticise him.

“Why does Wijnaldum even get to play 90 minutes? I’m shocked”

Credit: @Xavierhunter196

“Klopp are you serious?!?”

Credit: @KekeBelo

“Is Klopp drunk!”

Credit: @AmrSYousry

“Sorry. Don’t get this one”

Credit: @BookEmDannoooo

“He brings Jota off, the only player who looks like contributing anything”

Credit: @mlees1988

“How has Klopp’s decision making been so bad this season? This will has effectively put our season in huge doubt now”

Credit: @Knuckles_180

“Embarrassing Klopp”

Credit: @TMLFC19

“Astounded Shaq has come on I must say!”

Credit: @wayneellis1974

In other news, one Leicester City star’s head could be turned by interest from Liverpool, according to a former player. Find out who it is here.

Plenty of Aston Villa fans want Morgan Sanson to start against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Several supporters made their feelings known to the club’s official Twitter post on the French midfielder on Tuesday evening.

Sanson’s slow start

The 26-year-old, who arrived from Marseille on a four-and-a-half-year deal back in January, has made seven appearances for his new club.

However, Dean Smith has only handed Sanson one start during that time. That came in the 0-0 draw with Wolves a Villa Park, with Sanson brought off on the hour mark that evening.

He’s already received three yellow cards in his 158 minutes of Premier League action, but it appears as if some of the Villa faithful want to see him feature from the off against Jose Mourinho’s side at Villa Park.

The club decided to post a picture of Sanson along with an emoji of the French flag. This is what these supporters had to say to the post, with a large section demanding Sanson receives more starts, beginning this weekend.

Villa fans react

“Start him on Sunday then”

Credit: @Connor__AVFC

“Start him was our best player last game”

Credit: @EwanMackey

“King”

Credit: @JPAvfc_

“That’s cool but start him Sunday”

Credit: @AVFC_Bailey

“ok now start him sunday”

Credit: @catrinedwards18

“Start him Sunday”

Credit: @tom_avfc1

In other news: £80k-p/w January Aston Villa target can leave in cut-price deal this summer, find out more here. 

Mike Ashley must sanction a summer swoop for Newcastle United to re-sign Adam Armstrong from Blackburn Rovers.

What’s the word?

According to TEAMtalk, Toon chiefs are ready to push on with plans to lure Armstrong back to St. James’ Park at the end of the season, regardless of what division they are in.

United presently sit just two points above the Premier League drop zone, having only won two of their last 18 games to see a 10-point lead over Fulham be almost entirely eliminated.

Armstrong left Tyneside for Blackburn in 2018 for £2m in a deal sanctioned by Rafa Benitez but has excelled at Ewood Park to now be worth a reported £25m after scoring 19 goals in 33 Championship appearances this term.

Yet Newcastle could land Armstrong in the summer for far less, as the Magpies included a 40% sell-on clause in their agreement with Rovers. As such, the 24-year-old is expected to be available to Ashley for around £16m.

The Toon hierarchy seemingly believe that Armstrong represents good value for that sort of money, as they are said to be ready to present the forward with a path back to where his career began.

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Armstrong would be interested in a return to his former academy side, per Chronicle Live, but he has endless respect for Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray for offering him the chance to reset a career stagnating under Benitez.

Newcastle are not alone in tracking the free-scoring second-tier star, also, as David Moyes is said to have marked Armstrong as West Ham United’s top striker target while Southampton, Everton and Fulham have previously been linked.

Should Newcastle sign Blackburn’s Armstrong?

Newcastle holding a 40% sell-on clause for any fee Blackburn pick up for Armstrong will undoubtedly prove beneficial should United look to bring the West Denton-born frontman back to St. James’ Park at the end of the season.

The Toon certainly ought to be exploring a reunion, as Steve Bruce is not seeing anywhere near the needed level of competition for places from Dwight Gayle, Andy Carroll and Joelinton to leave 10-goal top-scorer Callum Wilson carrying the burden.

Gayle, Carroll and Joelinton each have scored just once in the Premier League this season, to extend appalling records of netting only five in 31, one in 35 and three in 61 games respectively over the past two campaigns combined.

Armstrong would be expected to offer a much higher level of competition for Wilson in the top-flight next term, should he be signed and Newcastle stay up, or fire the goals that secure United an immediate return from the second-tier.

Only Ivan Toney (28) and Teemu Pukki (22) have scored more often in the Championship this season than Armstrong (19), but each play for sides in Brentford and Norwich who have a chance of securing automatic promotion while Blackburn are 16 points adrift of the play-off places.

Yet Rovers boss Mowbray has no doubt in Armstrong’s talent, noting last month how the forward is “special” and has “Premier League quality”. It’s that type of quality that Lee Charnley should be working to bring back to St. James’ Park and Ashley must sanction the signing.

AND in other news, Newcastle are tracking a 20-year-old talent who has “played out of his skin”…

Many Sheffield Wednesday fans are reacting to the latest news provided by Dom Howson on Osaze Urhoghide, whose future has looked uncertain.

The 20-year-old defender started to emerge from the academy at the end of last season and has featured 12 times for the club since making his debut in January 2020 (Transfermarkt). Ten of these appearances have been in the Championship.

According to Howson, Wednesday have offered a new contract to Urhoghide, tweeting that he understands ‘talks are ongoing’. Meanwhile, the arrival of Darren Moore as manager is expected to accelerate things over the coming weeks.

This is very exciting news for fans of the club, especially since they are losing fellow academy star Liam Shaw, with the young striker heading to Scottish giants Celtic at the end of the campaign. One Owls fan even called it a “cracking” update about Urhoghide.

With the arrival of a new manager and a young player looking likely to commit his future to the club, it looks like things are starting to turn around at Hillsborough.

Here is how fans reacted to the news:

“I hope so he deserves a deal. Long way from the finished article but definitely showing big potential”

Credit: @Wednesdayite4

“Alexa play Saturday Night”

Credit: @willfowler1867

“The messiah”

Credit: @LewisNixon06

“Cracking news”

Credit: @75HagueSWFC

“Well he’s a better talent then Liam shaw”

Credit: @CameronWraith

“I’m sure it’s up to DM to access his squad first before offering contracts , Chansiri seems to over ride his own managers”

Credit: @OwlSheffield

In other news, these Sheffield Wednesday fans have reacted to Chansiri’s latest comments!